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Cyprus Property News

Cyprus Church lose control of Hellenic Bank to Hedge Funds and the World of Tanks.

Date: 04/11/13

Cyprus Orthodox Church appears to be one of the biggest losers in the Cyprus crisis.

Apart from having lost almost its
entire stake in Bank of Cyprus, last Wednesday it also lost most of its stake
in Hellenic Bank of which it had owned a majority stake of around 30%.

Hellenic Bank was forced to raise
around 300 Million Euro to meet the minimum requirements set out by Troika.
Hellenic avoided being bailed out by the government and managed to raise the
money on its own without being subjected to harsh bailout terms.

The recapitalization negotiations went on till
the last moment resulting in 30% of Hellenic Bank being owned by "Third
Point Offshore Master Fund L.P", 15% by a Cypriot investment fund "Demetra
Investments" and another 30% by "Wargamings Public", a Ukrainian
gaming company mostly famous for its popular online game “World of Tanks”. The
three companies collectively gave 100 million for their 75% stake in Hellenic
Bank leaving 25% to the existing share holders, valuing the Bank at around 133 Million.

Hellenic is now the second largest
bank in Cyprus. It also happens to be the second one to fall into largely
foreign ownership. Another Cypriot bank, the Bank of Cyprus, was earlier forced
to convert its deposits into equities and is now owned by its previous
depositors, mostly Russian businessmen. Apart from having lost almost its
entire stake in Bank of Cyprus, last Wednesday it also lost most of its stake
in Hellenic Bank of which it had owned a majority stake of around 30%.

Hellenic Bank was forced to raise
around 300 Million Euro to meet the minimum requirements set out by Troika.
Hellenic avoided being bailed out by the government and managed to raise the
money on its own without being subjected to harsh bailout terms.

The recapitalization negotiations went on till
the last moment resulting in 30% of Hellenic Bank being owned by "Third
Point Offshore Master Fund L.P", 15% by a Cypriot investment fund "Demetra
Investments" and another 30% by "Wargamings Public", a Ukrainian
gaming company mostly famous for its popular online game “World of Tanks”. The
three companies collectively gave 100 million for their 75% stake in Hellenic
Bank leaving 25% to the existing share holder, valuing the Bank at around 133 Million.